Richard "Dick" Schwery

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Richard Lawrence Schwery was born on October 2, 1935, near Panama, Iowa to parents Louis and Rose (Bosek) Schwery. Dick attended and graduated from St. Mary Catholic High School in Panama. Dick served for two years in the US Army. Seventeen months of that was in Germany.   Dick then farmed for a year and then started his carpentry business. On April 23, 1960, Dick married JoAnn Newland at the St. Patrick Catholic Church in Neola, Iowa. There were ten children born to this union, Michele, Leo, Mary, Louie, Lynn, Terry, Clifford, Connie, Marty and Christel. They lived on a farm west of Panama until 1973. They then remodeled a farmhouse and moved it to a farm north of Panama. A number of his sons ended up working with him in his carpentry business. Dick finally retired in 2022.

Dick was a lifelong member of the St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Panama. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus. He enjoyed coon hunting, fishing, watching rodeos and westerns on tv, attending rodeos and an occasional visit to a casino.

Dick died on Friday, March 29, 2024 at his home near Panama, Iowa, surrounded by his family, at the age of 88 years, five months and 27 days.

Dick was preceded in death by his parents; wife, JoAnn on December 22, 2012; son-in-law, Jon Carmody and a grandson, David Anderson. He is survived by his ten children, Michele Schwery of Panama, Leo (Jan) Schwery of Earling, Iowa, Mary Schwery of Omaha, Nebraska, Louis (Tina) Schwery of Woodbine, Lynn (Jeanette) Schwery of Council Bluffs, Iowa, Terry (Nicole) Schwery of Panama, Iowa, Clifford (Vicki) Schwery of Voluntown, Connecticut, Connie Carmody of Omaha, Nebraska, Marty (Renee) Schwery of Panama, and Christel (Greg) Kelley of Woodbine, Iowa; 22 grandchildren; 8 great grandchildren; six siblings, Bonnie Tremel of Chandler, Arizona, James Schwery of Panama, Marilyn Keane of Panama, Greg (Linda) Schwery of Belle Vista, Arkansas, Delores Schaben of Harlan, Iowa and Danny (Nancy) Schwery of Mitchell, Nebraska; and many other relatives and friends